July 2013

Isn’t it weird that there aren’t more Buffy t-shirts considering how massively popular the show was? I guess it isn’t really on TV much anymore so perhaps the younger generation don’t see it much and so t-shirt designers don’t want to spend time on something out of the public consciousness.

All three shirts are $14 at Tshirt Laundry this week before going up next week.

I haven’t seen Pacific Rim, but I do love that Hokusai-inspired design new in at BustedTees this week. Then again, I say that about every Hokusai-inspired design that I see. Shirts are $20 a piece and available now.

Pale Horse just released two new shirts ‘Grey Spirit of the Pineal’ T-shirt & ‘Panda Messenger’ racerback tank. These limited edition shirts are printed 100% combed cotton with water based inks, so the print is super soft. Check them out here: https://www.merchline.com/palehorse/category.4257.c.php

“Are you enjoying your summer? Why not spice things up with a new shirt from Ichie Apparel? Head over to www.ichieapparel.com, and we’ll give you every new summer tee for only $20 + $5 shipping to ANYWHERE! Treat yourself, live a little! ”

Andy: It costs me more than $5 to ship a Rigu order internationally, so that is a pretty sweet deal.

Rick over at OMUNKY dropped a collection of three new animal-based tees a few days ago, and as you can tell from the title, they all run on an aquatic theme. I think that my favourite of the bunch is the shark in the pool, which makes a lot of sense since I do spend quite a lot of time in the water. All three shirts are available now for the very reasonable price of $20.00 each with the design available on mens/womens/youth/toddler cuts, so you can outfit the whole family!

I hadn’t heard of Enthos before they got in touch regarding this new sale, but I’m glad that they have because their shirts would have been good at the original price of $25 each, but they’re great at just $12.50 each during the sale. Lots of designs to check out too.

Before my holiday I didn’t really understand a lot about hip-hop, and two weeks sat on beaches in Cornwall has done nothing to help that, so once again I have no idea what these shirts are about at My Main Man Pat so I’ll just let them give the information instead of trying to bluff my way through:

This week we’re playing at opposite ends of the spectrum of hip-hop’s timeline. “Schoolly D”, considered by many to be hip-hop’s original gangster rapper, had 5 albums out before 1990. His work paved the way for hip-hop in a lot of ways, and we are thrilled to have a design inspired by his legend on the site. “Deltron 3030” is more of a look towards the future, and has left us salivating for the hip-hop super-groups second album, set for release on October 1st (I’ll believe it when I see it after 9 years of teasing).

Paid Vaca is brand new online destination and retailer of exclusive men’s streetwear labels sourced from every human inhabited continent of our planet and is on a mission to serve the street fashion enthusiast authentic and exciting brands with which the global market is yet to be saturated. With the use of our original “shop by continent/country” filter options in our web shop, we are giving our customers the opportunity to travel through the world wide industry that is streetwear and to observe the various cultural and style influences being brought to it from every corner of the globe, all on a single computer or mobile phone screen.

The “Outfitter” tool, another Paid Vaca original functions as a customizable virtual mannequin and allows our customers to combine the looks we’ve sourced from across the planet and to build their own head to toe ensembles, based on any given item of interest once they’ve clicked to it’s product page. The Paid Vaca “Outfitter” provides our customers with a “DIY/Do It Yourself” level of control and interactivity and a fun and dynamic way to coordinate pieces from Brazil, Taiwan, Denmark, and so on, all into single well put together outfits.

Paid Vaca has arrived on the scene for the loyal fans of this industry and culture that are looking to expand their street fashion horizons. As a respectful newcomer to an industry for which it has much love and in which originality is highly valued, Paid Vaca is an operation all it’s own with a “what’s next?” oriented goal set for both it’s service to it’s customer base and for it’s contributions to the industry at large.

Apparel brand 8&9 is mostly doing it right. Their website is navigational, promotional, and well-supported by product and the brand story, their marketing is in the right places, and they keep their blog updated daily. Their mail package they sent my way was well-stocked with promotional gear, leave-behinds, and, well, free swag. 8&9 also sent not one, but two tees for review.

Right away, I was impressed with 8&9. Not many brands send as much “about me” info and gear for review. I’ve actually been surprised before on how little some brands send out (no note, receipt, or anything) in their packages. However, 8&9 had their brand story well included in their mailer.

The t-shirt design of the Premium Qualitytee they sent was also well done. The design was full and detailed, perfectly fitting for the medium of a t-shirt body. The color choices in the design and tee body meshed well together. Other smaller details stood out, too, like the embossed hangtag, a personalized center back printed label, and the special woven hem label.

The only real issue with the shirt was the weight of the cotton. The shirt felt like heavyweight cotton, and although a few brands print on tees of that weight, it’s not a usual a desired weight to consumers. Heavyweight tees can be especially uncomfortable to wear during summer days – a bummer for this design, because I was really stoked to wear it right away (but the Texas heat is quite a beast).

Still, even with the heavyweight shirt, since it carried such a bold design, I will most likely wear it in to a comfy state. 8&9 also sent an extra shirt, the Kill Squad Nunchacu Volt tee, but I was not as enamored by the design as I was with the Premium Quality tee. Even so, the Kill Squad tee caught my attention with the small details like the sleeve cuff print.

Overall, 8&9 had my support. After all, what good would a lighter, 6oz summer tee be if the design was poor? You can easily shop 8&9, here. They’ve got an array of designs, including v-necks and tank tops.

Stick It Wear?! by Joe Durica pays homage to the fan re-creation of sporting movements and moments. The brand’s bread-and-butter shirts are adorned with stick characters or ‘smart figures’ that are directly inspired from the refined Olympic pictograms of the 60s and 70s. They simplify our memories as we pass them from generation to generation of sports enthusiasts. In the process of turning a hero into a ‘icon’, the brand announces the arrival of the sophisticated die hard. It is the smart fan’s smart shirt.

Andy: With Britain still on a high from Andy Murray’s historic Wimbledon win I rather like these shirts.